Roll towel cabinet



March 15, 1932. C' W' THOMPSON 1,849,121

ROLL TOWEL CABINET Filed Jan. 24, 1929 2 sheets-sheet 1 @W6/m, www@ of'wegs March l5, 1932. c, w. THOMPSON ROLL TOWEL CABINET Filed Jan. 24, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l l ffivew'or www,

Patented Mar. l5, 1932 canaries 'enrnoiursoie or `wenn'sito/iii, @annemarie-ninas., ,essie-Nen, a-iiinsirn '.,nonnromir'rcalamar Application iii-ed "January 24,@ ieze. .senil N o( esame.

"" Y This inventionprelates to avtowel cabinet, y particularly 'the kind designed to standen' the l floor. ,Y Y. v Y .A @ne yof the objects of thsinvention isfto provide Va cabinet that' will Vho'lfd clean towel`V Y ing inthe upper ,portionhaiid `soiled toweling in the lower portion, equipped with asirnple, reha, le and inexpensive mechanismv whereby the -towef'ling pulled out of the cabinet 'bythe' user is automatically withdrawn within' the cabinet immediately upon itsjreleas'e. An-

other object is to .provide mechanism whichV limits the .length of'toWelingVv the' .user may pull out of thejcabinet at one time.' l'have found that byplacing the'cleantoweling inthe upper compartment and the Asoiled toweling in the lower compartment, the

cabinet itself, as well ast-he mechanism, may be greatly simpliiied in construction, which in turn makes the vinsertion 'of clean vt'oweling easier and more readily understood; Such a Vsimpliiication :is very l`advantageous `because the insertion-'oit cleantoweling must often be done by persons who "have little mechanical knowledge .and sho-rt patience with a towel cabinet having mechanism atA all complicated.

- Another Aobiect .of'inv invention iste e lrovide a cabinet so constructed that thetowel is withinthe cabinet, eirceptwhen being used, but with a portion visible qand ina lpositionV where' it may be easily grasped ,and Ypulled out. 'This not .only ,makes the cabinet mo're attractive, but also avoids ,havinOa any partei of the towel'ing loutside ofthe `cabinet-when not 'in use, where lit would become .soiledif not used frequently, as during the night.V

,i amber 15th, i928.

l ll'ith ,the `above and other objects in View which will -morejreadily appearas Athe nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists l in novel construction, combination, and v-arrangement of parts 4hereinafter more yfully described, claimed, and illustratedgin the accompanying drawings. f

In .accordance with the 'rules of practice, refe-rence is made to ymy (zo-.pending .application, Serial Number :$9,532 .ilingfdateNov- Like numerals -and letters @freier-'ence indicate .corresponding parts in .each figure.

In the drawings, Y

izigure-'l isarperspective vi'ewfshowingfthe `cabinetready for operation, ,the dotted" dash lines v'indica',ting,position of towelnrg Whenfpulled outfor'use. Figure 2 is .a cross section; line of Figure l, and showinigthe towelingjfuljly connected tothe automaticftake-upfmechaf 4 i 1Figurei3 isa'ffront'elevation*of theAv with the `doorfvv'ide open, withpartsfoflthe i'neror brokenawayf. d"

'frF'i-gure .4 is a cross section on l-'inef/ll'of Figure. Y ".Fgigure 5 is a cross-,section on the line'p of ligureQfi l Tiger@ sja perspective-viewer the @16- vator. 1 l

j`^l3`i Cure' 7 isla partial -cross siectionahview on` theline"T-To'fF-igure 3. j Y' Y, V-:Figure 8 rjshowsf.t'hefnfiea'n's off connecting two lengths "o'ftoweling wit-hfa clasp. 'As illustratedv the towel" cabi-net, "which Y rests on -shortfleg's M, consists of a' bottoml, a2 z-lo'aclr 16'- hav-ing perfor-ations' 16aY in fi-'tf Llio-'r1 ing stays() -whichare in ContactwithA Jche` inner surfaces otf-the'back 116` Vand' sidesf? "as 'y L i illustrated "infill igure 216i thedrawings. lower front :piece '-21 attached to :the vsides and bottom land a large doer22 com-plete the frame "of-the cabinet., :This dc'orlQQswiings onlfiifngesfQ attached-*tothe side 4'17. lTnilfie* rippen-portion ci; the door 22,- a good "sized Y s insite en,v meine-i :ignited 'a wir were-' .movable iside. pieces 13,0, liavinfgclemts ,Bilfam each side ilengthwiseimhich'eleatsznre in Contact with the sides 17e whenfselt; up A space' is therefore v,left,between ,each aside [L7 and i :the side ApieceV .130, inz-wliich'spaee; ,a,chain attached ,to a sprocket mechanism vinc,vesY Aas x vertically from just under the top stays 20 to the lower or driven control roll B later referred to. These side pieces 30 are flush against the back 16 and their front edges slant inwardly from top to bottom so that while their front edges are approximately two inches inward from the front edges of the sides 17 at the top, this distance is increased until the distance at the bottom is four inches ormore. A crescent-shaped hole 32 is cut in the front half from the top edge downwardly in each of said side pieces 30 just beyond the center, which hole is large enough to permit the upper or driver control roll A, later described, which extends through it, to freelyrotate. Still farther towards'the front of the cabinet, another hole 33 is cut from the top edges of each of said sides 30 in which hole a shallow slot 33a and a deeper slot `335 is cut in either of which slots the cylindrical towel spacing rod 34 rotatably fits. About half-way down said side pieces 30, a horizontal slotl 36 is cut extending from front to back; A dividing shelf 37 ts into these slots 36, which shelf 37 supports the roll of clean toweling 38 and serves to divide the cabinet into an upper compartment C and a lower compartment D, thereby preventing the clean toweling from coming in contact with the roll of soiled toweling 41 which is kept in the lower compartment D. This dividing shelf 37 extends beyond the front edges of the side pieces 30 but not to the front edges of the cabinet sides 17. In the lower half of each of the side pieces 30 a shallow recess 42 is cut which extends horizontally from the front edge approximately 2% inches, and then extends vertically downward, terminating in a crescent shaped hole 43 similar to the other hole 32, which hole 43 is cut from the bottom edge and is large enough to permit the driven control roll B, which passes through it, to freely rotate. The ends ofthe winding stick 44, on which the soiled toweling 41 is wound, are slipped into the recesses 42, and the stick is pushed in said recesses 42 until it rests directly on said driven control roll B. As the soiled toweling 41 winds on said stick 44, the roll gradually becomes larger causing the stick 44 to move upwardly in the vertical recesses 42.

The removable lsic` pieces 30 rest directly on side piece supports 45 which are in contact with therinner surfaces of the cabinet bottom 15. These side piece supports 45 are flush with the front edges of said cabinet sides 17, and each has a vertical slot 47 in which the elevator 48, which is part of the automatic towel take-up mechanism, slides.

This elevator 48 consists of two end pieces 49, in each of whicha vertical slot/50 is cut extending fromthe top approximately halfway down, and another smaller vertical slot 51 extending from the bottom of the elevator up about one inch. These end pieces 49 are connected by a center piece 52 which has a piece cut out at each end intermediate the top and bottom whichleaves two projections 53 at each end of said center piece 52. These projections 53 extend through the slots 50 and 51 and fit into the vertical slots 47, serving as guides for the elevator 48 as it moves up and down. Near the top of said elevator 48, two cylindrical rods 54 are rotatably mounted in the two end pieces 49, one on 'each side of the vertical slots 50. lVhenthe toweling is not being used, this elevator rests on rubber bumpers 15a attached to the cabinet bottom 15. Y

A cylindrical towel spacingrod 55 is rotatably mounted in shallow holes drilled in the cabinet sides 17 by springing it into said holes. This rod 55 is just above the side piece supports 45 and the soiled toweling comes in contact with it before it is wound on the stick 44. l Y

An inner towel door or guard G is mounted in shallow holes drilled in the cabinet sides 17 as explained in detail later. These holes are near the front corners of the dividing shelf 37, so that when the cabinet is ready for use the bottom of said guard G is just below the bottom of said shelf 37, said guard thereby constituting a door for the upper compartment C as it extends to within a few inches of the cabinet vtop 19. This towel guard G consists of two end bars 57,1'ounded at the ends in which vertical slotsare cut in their rear half, which slots Vextend most of the way from top to bottom. ln these slots a flat beard 58 constituting the body of the guard, is permanently mounted, which serves as a protector for the clean toweling in the cabinet and is directly back of the toweling which is visible through the opening 25 in the door 22. A rung 59 is stationarily mountedv in the, end bars 57 near their top edges so that the top of said rung 59 is just above the top of the flat board 58. The ciean toweling passes over this upper rung 59, which is forward of the board 58, ant it serves the purpose of giving the toweling a smooth rounded surface to run on as it is pulled out of the upper compartment C. APL other rung 60 is stationarily mounted in the end bars near their oottoni edges so that the bottom of said rung 50 is just below the bottom of the flat board 58. This lower rung 60 extends through and beyond said end bars 57 and these projecting ends 51 rotatabiy iit into the shallow holes previously mentioned, which are made in the cabinet sides 17, thereby hingedly mounting said towel guard C to the cabinet, so that when clean toweling is inserted or removed from the upper compartment C this guard or door G may be swung down out of the way and then pushed up again. This rung 60, which is forward of said board 58, like the other rung 59,

the control roll A and through the sprocket and chain mechanism the control roll B is simultaneously rotated which causes lthe soiled toweling to wind on the soiled toweling roll. lVhen the elevator A8 strikes the bumper 28 this stopping of the elevator prevents any more toweling being pulled out of the cabi-net, so, therefore, the length of toweling which may be pulled out of the cabinet is determinedV by the movement of the elevator, which makes it possible to furnish a definite length for each user. lt should be understood, however, that if the toweling is not pulled out, there is nothing to prevent a person from continuously pulling all of the clean toweling ofi7 the roll and simultaneously winding it on the roll 4l and thereby wasting it, but he cannot pull out of the cabinet at one time more than a certain length which is predetermined, and as he cannot use the toweling unless he vpulls it out, this cabinet provides a practical measured service.

lVhen the user has dried himself he releases the toweling andthe elevator drops by gravity to its originalposition pulling the released toweling within the cabinet. Everything'is then in readiness for the next user to dry himself.

When the last ofthe clean toweling is used the door is opened and the roll of soiled toweling is slipped out of the recesses a2, and a clean rollY is insertedfin the cabinet.

If desired, the automatic take-up mechanism may be'disregarded, as the toweling may be inserted and used independent of it, in which case a loop of toweling extends through the. opening 25 and hangs outside the door 22 ready for use.

What I claim is 1. A towel cabinet comprising a casing having a door at the front provided with an openinoa in the upper portion thereof, side pieces ltting within said casing and spaced from the side walls thereof, a yshelf horizontally supported by said side pieces and eX- tending from the back of the casing forwardly to a poi-nt near the front thereof and adapted to support a supply of clean towel, bars provided on each side of said casing in front of said side pieces, a guard plate mounted in said bars and extending vertically in front of said shelf and side pieces and in the rear of said door opening, rungs mounted in said side pieces at the top and bottom of said-- guard andin front of the same, a feed roll mounted in said side pieces in the rear of said guard and over which a. web of clean towel may be passed from said supply to said upper rung, a gap being provided between said upper rung and the wall of the door opening through which a towel web may be stretched for convenience of use, said upper and lower rungs holding a towel web out of Contact with said guard and a gap betake up feed roll for the soiled towel interposed between said side pieces below said shelf, a delivery feed roll carried by said side pieces above said shelf and having adriving connection with said take up feed roll in the space betweenthe side wall of the casing and one of said side pieces, the position of the delivery feed roll being such that a web of clean towel may be stretched thereover for delivery tothe user through said door opening, a gap being provided between 'fad shelf and door through which a soiled web may depend, a take up roll mounted in said side pieces whereon a towel web may be wund with its convolutions resting on said take up feed roll and an kelevator device having a vertical movement between the slanting edges of said side pieces and said door and provided with oppositely spaced rods under which ajweb of towel may be passed to said take up roll, whereby said web may be lrawn taut and the wrinkles removed.

3. A 'towel cabinet comprising a casing having a door at the front provided with an opening inthe upper portion thereof, side pieces fitting within said casing and spaced from the side walls thereof, a shelf horizontally supported by said side pieces and eX- tending forwardly from the rear thereof and adapted to support a supply of clean towel, a guard plate extending vertically in front of said shelf, a rung mounted near the top of said guard plate, a feed roll mounted in the upper portion of said side pieces, vertical slots of dierent depth being provided in said side pieces between said feed roll and said rung, a cylindrical towel spacing rod rotatably fitting in either of said slots, the position of said rod, said feed roll and said rung being such that a web of towel may be stretched over said rod and around said feed roll to said rung and from thence through the opening in said door to a position convenient for use, a gap being provided between said shelf and'door'through which the soiled web may depend intothe lower portion of said casing.

CHARLES lV. THOMPSON. 

